Courtesy Cypress Creek Energy
Construction has begun on the Steel River Energy Center in Wilson, Arkansas, the largest solar energy project in the United States to date. Cypress Creek Energy and Google joined community leaders, project partners and elected officials at a groundbreaking on 14 July 2026 marking the start of work on the first two phases of the DC-coupled solar and battery storage development in Mississippi County.
The opening two phases will deliver 1.6 GWdc of new solar generation and 1.9 GWh of battery storage, backed by $3.5 billion in financing secured in June. Once the three-phase project is fully complete in 2029, it will provide 2.5 GWdc of solar and 2.9 GWh of battery storage — enough to power more than 315,000 Arkansas homes each year.
Google’s largest solar-plus-storage commitment
Under a power purchase agreement with project owner and operator Cypress Creek, Google has secured energy from the first two phases — the largest solar and storage project across Google’s global portfolio to date.
“Steel River not only represents an important investment in Google’s clean energy commitments, but also in our commitment to Arkansas,” said Will Conkling, Head of Data Center Energy at Google. “This collaboration with Cypress Creek Energy will strengthen the grid and help ensure more reliable, affordable, and clean energy is available for businesses and communities throughout the state.”
The project will connect to the regional grid, adding generation and storage capacity to help power Arkansas’s growing industrial economy, including steel manufacturing, new data centres and other major employers across the region.
“As Arkansas’s economy continues to grow and attract new industries, ensuring reliable and affordable electricity for our communities and businesses is more important than ever,” said Laura Landreaux, president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas, describing the project as a significant step forward in meeting the state’s rising demand. By leveraging solar — one of the lowest-cost sources of new generation — she said the utility can help keep energy costs manageable for families and businesses across the state.
Built on Arkansas steel
Located in the nation’s leading steel-producing county, Steel River is being built with a deliberately domestic supply chain. Nearly all of the project’s structural steel will come from Mississippi County itself: for the first two phases, PACO Steel will provide more than 400,000 steel piles manufactured in Blytheville using more than 142,000 tons of steel coils produced at U.S. Steel’s Big River Steel facility in Osceola. Each pile is stamped, “Proudly made in Mississippi County, Arkansas.”
In total the project uses 159,000 tons of domestic structural steel — around 2.5 times the steel used in the Empire State Building.
Sitting atop those piles are solar trackers from Nextpower, built with domestically produced steel including significant content from Big River. The project also uses 100% U.S.-made solar modules from First Solar and battery energy storage systems from LG Energy Solution Vertech, assembled in the United States with cells manufactured entirely in North America, predominantly at U.S. factories.
“Some people still question whether a domestic solar supply chain is possible. This project is proof,” said Kevin Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Cypress Creek Energy. “Steel River is the largest solar project with energy storage in the country, and it’s being built with 100% U.S.-made solar panels and structural steel. That’s good for American manufacturing, good for Arkansas, and good for the country’s energy future.”
Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, called the project “a showcase of American manufacturing, using steel manufactured right in Mississippi County, Arkansas.”
The groundbreaking follows Cypress Creek’s acquisition of the Steel River project from Swift Current Energy earlier in 2026, a deal that doubled the developer’s operating and under-construction portfolio and set the stage for this month’s start of construction.
Jobs, tax revenue and community funds
Steel River is expected to create approximately 700 construction jobs per phase and generate an estimated $300 million in local tax revenue over the life of the project, benefiting Rivercrest School District, Mississippi County and the Town of Wilson. Cypress Creek has selected Moss as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.
Google and Cypress Creek are also committing a combined $8 million to local communities through dedicated investment funds. Google has committed $5 million in energy affordability initiatives supporting Arkansas residents and K-12 schools, building on its existing Greater West Memphis Energy Impact Fund — which supports community solar subscriptions for low-income customers in West Memphis, residential health, safety and weatherization improvements in Mississippi County, and school-district energy efficiency projects across the state. Cypress Creek has committed a further $3 million through its community investment programme, beginning with a $400,000 contribution to Rivercrest School District for a new playground.
“We are grateful for the investment Cypress Creek is making in the future of Mississippi County,” said Shantele Raper, Superintendent of Rivercrest School District, adding that the new inclusive playground “will provide a place where every child can learn, play, and grow together.”
A wider market shift
The project lands amid a rapid national build-out of solar and storage. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, solar and battery storage accounted for 91% of all new electricity-generating capacity added in the United States, fuelling demand for American-made steel, panels, trackers and batteries. The clean power industry now supports more than 1.4 million jobs. Arkansas is seeing its share of that momentum beyond Mississippi County, with schemes such as the 135 MW Conway Solar Project adding further utility-scale capacity to the state’s grid.
Project Factsheet: Steel River Energy Center
Project: Steel River Energy Center (DC-coupled solar-plus-storage)
Location: Wilson, Mississippi County, Arkansas, USA
Owner / operator / developer: Cypress Creek Energy
Offtaker: Google (power purchase agreement, Phases 1 and 2)
Phases 1 & 2: 1.6 GWdc solar and 1.9 GWh battery storage
Full buildout: 2.5 GWdc solar and 2.9 GWh battery storage by 2029 (three phases)
Homes powered: More than 315,000 Arkansas homes a year
Financing: $3.5 billion (secured June 2026)
Construction start: July 2026
EPC contractor: Moss
Structural steel: 159,000 tons domestic steel (~2.5x the Empire State Building); 400,000+ piles from PACO Steel (Blytheville) using 142,000+ tons of coil from U.S. Steel’s Big River Steel (Osceola)
Solar modules: First Solar (100% U.S.-made)
Trackers: Nextpower
Battery storage: LG Energy Solution Vertech (U.S.-assembled, North American cells)
Jobs: ~700 construction jobs per phase
Tax revenue: ~$300 million over project life
Community investment: $8 million combined (Google $5m; Cypress Creek $3m, including $400,000 for a Rivercrest School District playground)
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